Cech praises perfect Chelsea performance

Goalkeeper Petr Cech believes Chelsea's Champions League quarter-final first leg against Benfica at Estadio da Luz could not have gone much better.

A Saloman Kalou strike in the second half saw the Blues secure a vital away win in a game which has been labelled one of their best this season following an excellent tactical display by interim manager Roberto Di Matteo.

The win was Chelsea's first away in Europe this season and was also the first time rivals Benfica have failed to score in 22 matches.

And Cech was delighted following the display, which he described as 'perfect', telling Sky Sports: "We can say it was a perfect game for us in terms of the result.

"We kept a clean sheet and we were patient throughout the game, waiting for our chances to come and in the end we scored on a very good counter-attack.

"Overall, we can be really satisfied because in terms of the game plan we did really well. We didn't let them play first half and second half we waited patiently for our chance and it came."

When asked if the critics are writing off the Blues' chances of winning silverware too quickly, the Czech Republic international added:

"I think this is a strange season. There were ups and downs in the league but we are still in the Champions League and the FA Cup.

"We are still hunting for two trophies so let's see how we finish, but we've put ourselves in a very good position."